The Department of Language Studies strives to create courses that are meaningful.
We are excited to announce that several of our proposed courses have been approved, and many will be offered for the first time in the upcoming academic year (Fall/Winter 2023-24).
French
FRE389H5 • Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition
This course examines the effects of cognitive (e.g., aptitude, working memory) and affective differences (e.g., motivation, L2 anxiety) on second language acquisition. Students will come to understand the nature of these differences via empirical studies on learners of French and the use of assessment instruments including questionnaires and on-line tests. Particular emphasis is placed on students' ability to discuss between-learner differences in comprehension and production, identify relevant individual differences capable of explaining such variability, and conduct their own individual differences research.
FRE354H5 • Teaching French in a Plurilingual Context
This course allows students to explore innovative pedagogical approaches such as the Action Oriented and Plurilingual & Pluricultural Approaches, building on knowledge and skills acquired in FRE227H5 Teaching and Learning a Second/Foreign Language. This is accomplished through the examination of the linguistic and cultural diversity observed in French Language classes today, and the discovery of innovative and current teaching approaches followed by the creation of pedagogical materials. Particular emphasis is placed on students’ abilities to transfer knowledge into practice.
FRE377H5 • The Phonetics & Phonology of French Foreign Accent [to be offered in the future]
This course explores the phonetic and phonological properties of second language French learners' speech. Particular emphasis is placed on students' ability to summarize typical characteristics and phenomena of second language speech learning, identify segmental and prosodic features of nonnative French including inter-learner variability, and conduct acoustic analyses of real learner speech.
FRE385H5 • Decoding French Language Games [to be offered in the future]
This course explores the phonological properties of French language games such as Verlan and Loucherbem. Adopting a comparative approach with standard French, particular emphasis will be placed on students' ability to identify and model phonological patterns of segmental and syllable structure modification using both descriptive and theoretical phonological tools.
FRE395H5 • Francophone Media and Global Culture [to be offered in the future]
This course explores media and culture in the Francophone world through textual, graphic, musical and cinematographic content. Students will apply previously acquired knowledge in cultural studies, and their oral and written competences in French to the study of multiple cultural and mediatic forms including movies, graphic novels and songs. Particular emphasis will be placed on extending attentive reading skills as ways of thinking about texts, images and music, and on deploying these skills to better understand the relationship between different Francophone cultures within our contemporary world.
Global Leadership
GLB201H5 • Global Leadership: Past, Present, Futures
The evolution and exercise of leadership is examined in the context of globalization. Terminology, case studies, and practical examples are used to consider questions such as: Why did globalization become a dominant frame? How have narratives of globalization changed over time? How does late 20th century globalization differ from earlier processes of colonization? What are expectations going forward? The assumed scale of globalization and how it manifests differently in various geographies, societies, and contexts is assessed. Students reflect on the uneven experiences of globalization in their own lives, communities, and worlds they observe and pass through. Students challenge ideas of how good leadership is conceived, the dynamics that are assumed (e.g., leaders and followers), and who/what might be left out (e.g., gender, race, class), today and in the future.
Italian
ITA256H5 • Italian-Canadian Studies: Literature, Theatre, Cinema [to be offered in the future]
(Offered in English) A portrait of Italian immigration through artistic expression in the works of, for example, De Cicco, De Michele, Patriarca, Ricci, and others, to highlight the voices that helped to establish/shape Italian-Canadian Studies. Students will have the opportunity to interact with writers, directors, and artists from the Italian-Canadian community.
ITA395H5 • Topics in Italian Studies [to be offered in the future]
(Offered in English) Students will develop a deeper and more nuanced understanding of key theories and practices as they relate to the central topics investigated in the course. The course may have a historic, literary, cinematic, cultural, or other focus. Students should contact the Department for the topic when course is offered. Texts will be available in Italian and English.
Language Teaching and Learning
LTL100H5 • Introduction to Language Teaching, Learning and Assessment [to be offered in the future]
This course provides students with foundational knowledge and skills for the study of second language teaching, learning, and assessment. Students will learn to describe language structure and use including among learners, identify major phenomena of non-native language learning, and discuss principles and best practices in second language teaching and assessment.
LTL399H5 • Research Opportunity Program [to be offered in the future]
This course provides senior undergraduate students who have developed some knowledge of research methods used in the discipline of Language Teaching and Learning to work in the research project of a U of T Mississauga professor for course credit. Enrolled students have the opportunity to become involved in original research, develop their research skills, and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Project descriptions for participating faculty members for the following summer, fall, or winter sessions are posted on the ROP website in mid-February and students are invited to apply at that time. See Experiential and International Opportunities for more details
Linguistics
JAL351H5 • Language and Culture: Area study
This course offers an in-depth study of a particular region or language from a linguistic and anthropological perspective. In some cases this will involve focusing on a particular language or speech community (e.g., Vietnamese) including its historical development and the ways in which its boundaries have been defined. In other cases, it will involve a broader, regional approach (e.g., mainland Southeast Asia). Topics vary from year to year but may include semantic and grammatical structure, language variation and use, language pragmatics, poetry and poetics, literacy and orality, political discourse, historical linguistics and comparative reconstruction, language contact and shift.
JAL453H5 • Language and Social Theory [to be offered in the future]
This seminar course considers the intersection of linguistics and anthropology, bringing ideas from contemporary and classical social theory to bear on questions central to both fields of study. Topics vary from year to year but may include any of the following: linguistic relativity; register formation; language variation; linguistic ideologies; racialization; political discourse; pragmatic and semiotic theory; language reform.
JLP285H5 • Language, Mind, & Brain
Language is often described as a quintessentially human trait. What is the mental machinery underlying this ability? In this course, you will explore questions such as: Do animals have language? How do children learn language? How do we understand and produce language in real time? How does bilingualism work? What can neuroscience tell us about language abilities? What is the relationship between language and thinking?
JLP315H5 • Language Development
By three years of age, children have mastered many of the complexities of human language. How do they do this so rapidly, and with such ease? In this course, you will examine language acquisition from a cognitive perspective. Topics include the acquisition of speech sounds, sentence structure, and conversational abilities, as well as patterns of development in special populations. You will also learn about childhood bilingualism and social aspects of language development. Hands-on experience analyzing recordings of children will be provided.
JLP383H5 • Adult Language Processing
Language is a key element in our social interactions, our ability to share information, and aspects of human culture. In this course you will engage in an advanced exploration of the cognitive machinery underlying language in adulthood. Key themes include: incremental interpretation and predictive processing; the relationship between language comprehension and production; and the nature of processing in bilinguals and speakers of less-studied languages. Practical activities address experimental methodology and aspects of data analysis.
JLP384H5 • Speech Communication
Imagine an animal species where one creature can generate thoughts in other creatures' minds simply by causing the air molecules around them to vibrate. Although this sounds exotic, it is what we as humans do every time we speak and listen. In this course, we explore the perception and production of spoken language from an interdisciplinary perspective. Sample topics include perceptual and cognitive aspects of speech communication, speech signal acoustics, audio-visual speech integration, speech sound articulation, artificial speech recognition, multilingualism, and contextual influences on speech communication. Through laboratory exercises, students will replicate classic experimental findings and gain hands-on experience with acoustic and behavioural data analysis
LIN240H5 • Computer Programming for Linguists
We live in a world of language technology – who can imagine life without search engines, translation software and automated captioning? At the same time, more and more linguists use computational methods in their research. For example, this methodology can allow us to find all the ways the adverb actually is actually used, or to generate all monosyllabic six-character words for a psycholinguistic experiment. At the heart of this is computer programming: giving precise instructions for your computer to carry out – repeatedly and accurately. This course introduces the basic components of computer programming in Python for linguists.
LIN352H5 • English Language Linguistics in the Public Sphere
This course prepares students to engage with English language linguistics in public settings. Students will critically analyze what role the English language has in society, and learn how linguists can help answer the public’s questions about the English language. Topics may include: what common misconceptions the general public has about language; the disconnect between what linguistics is and what the public wants to know about language, and how to bridge between this gap; dismantling English-supremacist attittudes and linguistic prejudices around the world; designing research to assess public attitudes about language.
LIN375H5 • Chinese Linguistics
This course offers a linguistic introduction to the features and characteristics of the Chinese languages. Attention will be given to the phonological, morphological and syntactic patterns of the language family, set against the backdrop of its linguistic and sociolinguistic history. The course not only examines the characteristics of Mandarin but also various other varieties of Chinese. No prior knowledge of a Chinese language is necessary.
JLP388H5 • Bilingualism and Multiple Language Acquisition [to be offered in the future]
What are the linguistic and psychological implications of knowing more than one language? This course will explore topics such as the bilingual brain, the nature of bilingual language input, effects of age-of-acquisition and language similarity, the status of heritage languages, schooling in a second language (for example French Immersion programs), and research methodologies used in the study of bilingualism. Bilingual/multilingual corpora will be examined.
JLP481H5 • Topics in Developmental Psycholinguistics [to be offered in the future]
How do children's language comprehension and production abilities differ from adults? What can research on language acquisition tell us about why language looks the way it does? Developmental psycholinguists use experimental techniques to explore a range of topics in the area of child language comprehension and production. Drawing on cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, we will explore contemporary issues and debates in this area.
JLP483H5 • Topics in Adult Psycholinguistics [to be offered in the future]
What is the connection between comprehending, producing, and thinking about language? How do the properties of different languages influence the nature of language processing? How is processing affected by differences across individuals? Drawing on a variety of perspective and methodologies, we will explore contemporary issues and debates in these and other topics.
LIN299H5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their second year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 299H course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
LIN374H5 • African Linguistics [to be offered in the future]
This course explores the linguistic features and characteristics of African languages. Attention will be given to the phonetic, phonological, morphological, and syntactic components of the languages to be studied, with emphasis on examining under-represented and under-studied languages. No prior knowledge of an African language is necessary.
LIN452H5 • Communicating English Language Linguistics [to be offered in the future]
This course teaches students advanced skills for engaging with English language linguistics in public settings. Topics may include: how to talk to a general audience about linguistics; navigating common public myths about language; presentation skills to make complex topics accessible; incorporating linguistics in language courses; public outreach and interview skills in linguistics; designing research to answer public questions about English. In this capstone course, students will output innovative projects for educating the public about English language linguistics. This course includes an experiential learning component where students will get hands-on experience talking to various audiences about linguistics.